1981 Lotus Eclat 2.2
Discussion
This is a late Eclat, with the 2.2 litre Lotus 912 engine, two Dellorto 45s, Getrag five speed gearbox, power steering and a galvanised chassis, but still with inboard rear drum brakes (discs on the front). The JPS paint scheme and decals are original, and the car is overall in reasonable nick. It feels fast and lively on the road, and handles like, well, a Lotus!
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 30th September 19:50
The car feels very light, quick and nimble.
The series 1 cars suffered from chassis rot, particularly at the rear. The series 2 cars (as this one is) have a galvanised chassis. Steel side bars inside the doors can rust, but the chassis and suspension parts tend to be OK. There is also a steel roll bar that doesn't rust as it has no exposure to air or damp. The fibreglass suffers from the usual minor cracking with age and stress, but the bodyshell is quite thick and strong. It was made from a then new process in two halves, bonded along the waist line.
This car looks good from ten feet, but close up it has flex cracking near the bonnet badge, light cracking near the C pillars, and scratches and scuffs here and there on the paintwork, but overall the paint is quite reasonable, especially on the roof and doors. It looks as though someone used the spoiler to rest things on as it is quite badly scratched on top.
The interior has worn well. One of the door cards has been changed I think, but the tweedy dash fabric and seats are good, apart from two small areas of wear on the driver's seat. The carpets are new within the last year. All dials and switches work, except for the rear interior light switch, and the fog light switch as been wired upside down. The car has a high pitched old fashioned sports car horn. The electrically driven pop up headlamps work, but when you flash them they flick up and down in sequence like a double wink.
The series 1 cars suffered from chassis rot, particularly at the rear. The series 2 cars (as this one is) have a galvanised chassis. Steel side bars inside the doors can rust, but the chassis and suspension parts tend to be OK. There is also a steel roll bar that doesn't rust as it has no exposure to air or damp. The fibreglass suffers from the usual minor cracking with age and stress, but the bodyshell is quite thick and strong. It was made from a then new process in two halves, bonded along the waist line.
This car looks good from ten feet, but close up it has flex cracking near the bonnet badge, light cracking near the C pillars, and scratches and scuffs here and there on the paintwork, but overall the paint is quite reasonable, especially on the roof and doors. It looks as though someone used the spoiler to rest things on as it is quite badly scratched on top.
The interior has worn well. One of the door cards has been changed I think, but the tweedy dash fabric and seats are good, apart from two small areas of wear on the driver's seat. The carpets are new within the last year. All dials and switches work, except for the rear interior light switch, and the fog light switch as been wired upside down. The car has a high pitched old fashioned sports car horn. The electrically driven pop up headlamps work, but when you flash them they flick up and down in sequence like a double wink.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff